Ohhh Monday, back so soon? I know I'm late but this weekend I finished The Jinx - anyone else out there totally creeped out by the end of the last episode?? Not so much the oops-I-left-my-mic-on-in-the-bathroom confession but the burping. What was with the burping??? And the talking to himself? And now he's in jail (again) but is he just going to get right out of it (again)? Also these memes are killing me, especially this one:


Onto this week's meal plan:

Breakfast for the week:

Lunch for the week:
  • Leftovers
  • Crockpot Taco Soup (recipe coming soon pending taste test)

Dinners:
Snacks and Dessert:

Last week I planned to make my Italian Stuffed Peppers but apparently blacked out at the grocery store on Sunday and didn't buy the right ingredients, so Mexican Stuffed Peppers it is (I left them in the oven a little long so the final picture is super wrinkly but tastes good!):
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins (maybe less if you don't want a wrinkly pepper)

Ingredients:
  • 4 Bell Peppers
  • 1 lb lean ground turkey
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • 1 Tablespoon Cumin
  • 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
  • 1 Tablespoon Garlic Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 1 jalapeno, minced and seeded
  • 1-14 oz can diced tomatoes with chilis  
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced (less if you're not a garlic fanatic like us)
  • Guacamole (I used this recipe, but sometimes just buy it at the grocery store)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tops off the bell peppers, including the seeds, and trim out the ribs.

Season the turkey with the cumin, chili powder, garlic salt, sea salt and pepper and cook in a large frying pan with the chicken broth over medium-high heat for 10 mins or until the meat is cooked. Add the garlic and onion and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, mixing them well with the meat mixture.

Set the bell peppers onto a baking sheet and scoop the meat mixture into the peppers. I packed the meat down to fit as much as possible inside. Heat them in the oven for 25-30 minutes. When they're done, scoop guacamole on top and serve!

Linking up at DDT

Weekly Paleo Meal Plan + Paleo Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Monday, March 30, 2015


Yesterday was 45 degrees and rainy, so instead of doing much work I decided to spend the day planning for sunnier days aka summer aka a million years from now apparently. Step 1: find a bathing suit. Every season I buy one bottom and/or one top at Target because, well, Target bathing suits. However I recently discovered Asos (thanks Charisse!) dresses which led to Asos bathing suits which led to me realizing that other places make affordable bathing suits that fit! What!

Random sidenote: when I was looking for honeymoon bathing suits I was like hey I should get all bridal and get a white bathing suit! But on my budget I'm not about to buy a bathing suit I can't wear more than once, and I had this kind of sad/weird realization: I don't really think there's ever going to be a point in life again in which I will be tan enough for a white bathing suit because, well I'm a grown up. It seems like a small thing, but high school and college Lindsay tanned for sport in the summers. Confession: in college I may or may not have scheduled classes around prime rays (shout out to the other sun worshippers who know that's 11 am - 1 pm!). (I hate college Lindsay too.) When I went to the pool or beach I'd wear SPF 8 suncreen (with tanning oil) for like 1 day and then go sans-sunscreen the rest of the season. These days, a much more aware Lindsay wears SPF 30-45 AT MINIMUM. Never anything less because I'll be damned if I'm spending half my paycheck every month on organic food to ensure a long healthy life and then end up with freaking skin cancer because I wanted to look like I stayed on the grill 10 minutes too long. And also that whole full-time job thing prevents me from basking in the prime rays on the reg. So basically bathing suit shopping led me to a realization that, even though I generally feel like a child in a suit, I am in fact growing up. Anyway.

Onto the bathing suits, here some of my favorites, I love all the different shapes and styles (and price tags):

Can we talk about one-pieces? I've seen them everywhere, and they're not our mama's one pieces either. I don't know if I could pull some of these off but I love them:


$26 from ChicNova (real question: do you wear double sided tape with this?)






$70 from Asos (I may just leave my price range and my comfort zone for this one)


Let's talk about Asos really quick: free (2 day) shipping, free returns, extremely good prices, extremely cool clothes. I ordered 7 white dresses from Asos for my rehearsal dinner, tried them on, picked one, put the rest in the return envelope, and dropped them in the mail dropbox down the street from my house. It is too easy. And too cheap. And too great of clothes. Asos Curve is their plus size line that is off the charts (bathing suits too!). I'm not getting paid by them to talk about them, I just want everyone to know because when I got my first order from them I was like WHY didn't anyone tell me about this? And my friend Charisse was like I HAVE been telling you about this and I was like WHY don't I listen the first time?

Also - Target has lowered their free shipping minuimum to $25, and you now have 365 days to return some items. While all of this is exciting, it is extremely dangerous for my online shopping habit which seems to be spinning out of control.

Where do you find affordable bathing suits?

Budget Bathing Suits

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Confession: I'm a dance mom at heart, and Harrison (hey new husband!) has been selected by Realtor Magazine and National Association of Realtors as a finalist for top 30 realtors in the country under 30 and they are currently running a web poll- please take a sec to vote here (bonus- they don't ask for any personal info!). I feel like I'm the ultimate dance mom of this competition, like I'm standing in the audience mouthing every word to the song as Harrison performs on stage. 

Now on to breakfast!

I've been burned out on eggs lately, like the kind of burned out that's like if I even see an egg I'm going to gag. This happens to me every few months with eggs and chicken, and it is a strange occurrence for the girl who only ate macaroni and cheese, quesadillas, and pizza for over a decade of life (I wasn't really one for adventure back in the day). I switched back to green smoothies every morning for about a month and now I'm back on the egg train with this delicious breakfast casserole. Also this is the response it got from Harrison so it comes recommended:

Yes we went parasailing in Mexico and yes I love plays on words. No I'm not a Sarah Palin fan

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 40 mins
Servings: 10

Ingredients
  • 1 sweet potato, spiralized ($.80) (I used my brand new spiralizer
  • 12 large eggs, beaten ($4.00)
  • 1 package Al Fresco Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage (I get mine at Wal-Mart, or your choice of sausage) ($5.00)
  • 2 Cups Spinach ($2.00)
  • 1 white onion, diced ($.90)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the sausages in half to remove the meat from the casing. Cook the meat over medium-high heat for about 10, then add the onions, garlic, and peppers and continue cooking until meat is cooked all the way through and onions are translucent.

Spray some non-stick spray on an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish (I use a $10.99 Pyrex Easy-Grab 8" Glass Dish with Lid- yay for a lid that fits!). Layer the sweet potato pieces on the bottom of the pan,  then sprinkle some salt and pepper on top of the sweet potato, then add a layer of spinach. Now layer the meat/onion/pepper/garlic concoction to the spinach. Now, evenly pour the eggs on top of the concoction and heat for 40 minutes (or until completely cooked) and voila! Enjoy!

And don't forget to vote, I'll be here dance momming until Friday:




Linking up with DDT and Turn it Up Tuesday






Hearty Paleo Breakfast Casserole!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

One of my favorite parts of our ceremony was our champagne toast! Captured by Penelope Anne Photography

Personalizing a wedding ceremony was a big task for us because a) I wanted it to represent who we are/what we're about; b) you have one shot to get it right; c) 200 people...; d) I really, really, really didn't want it to be typical or dull or eye rolling; and e) I tend to go a bit overboard and end up with an end product that is either tacky or involves me crying the whole time (see: emotional hot mess). In the end, it turned out perfect. I don't know if anyone was rolling their eyes but I felt great about our ceremony and felt it really represented Harrison and me (annnd I only cried a teeny tiny bit).

SO! These are my tips/a few things that would have ruined everything if we hadn't done:

1) Decide what is important to you in the ceremony/what you want to be represented.
For us, we wanted people to leave knowing that we are about serving God, our choice to love each other (and the things that go into choosing love), home, family, and of course a lot of freakin fun.

2) Research other alternative wedding ceremonies for inspiration.
Because traditional weddings are so engrained in my head, I had a hard time thinking outside the box. Enter: Pinterest! I found this article from A Practical Wedding and this Huffington Post article helpful and good to get my brain jogging in the right direction.

3) Write out your ceremony- in painstaking detail.
Since most vendors have done 1000000000 very traditional weddings, it's important that everyone has every detail. It's not like our's was sooo crazy or different, but there were a few things that our vendors weren't used to. Here's what our's looked like:

TimePeopleDetails
5:15 PMDoors Open, music playingcaterers, DJmake sure champagne table is set by 5:15, confirm time
5:35 PMFamily gets escorted to seats1) Cory w/Deb 2) Ken w/Sheila 3) Herb w/PearlHB goes to stage
5:38 PMEveryone takes their place, ___ removes string that is blocking aisleBmaids groomsmen, HB, LT & CraigFamily Matters theme song
5:45 PMFather Kemp and HB take place in front - Herb joins from front Father Kemp, HB, Herb Herb will hang out to the side after he drops off Pearl
5:46 PMFather Kemp announces no cameras
5:48 PMProcessionalBmaids, GmenSo Good To Me - Chris Malinchak
5:52 PMLT and Craig come down the aisleLT and CraigHard to Concentrate - RHCP
5:54 PMIntro from Father KempFather Kemp
5:55 PMFather Kemp reads "A Poem of Friendship" Nikki GiovanniFather Kemp
6:00 PMCory and Tricia speakCory and TriciaReading their piece on "choosing love"
6:05 PMFather Kemp talks moreFather Kemp
6:08 PMVowsLT and HB
6:12 PMClosing PrayerFather Kemp
6:14 PMFirst kiss
6:15 PMChampagne Toastcaterers serve champagne - Meg T serve champagne to wedding party
6:16 AMPresentation of the coupleFather Kemp
6:17 PMProcessionalBridal partyEnd of Time- Beyonce

4) Run your write-up by a few people who have wedding experience.
Sometimes no one does these things at their weddings because it's a bad idea. Case in point: I originally had my heart set on a candle ceremony where the whole audience lights candles blah blah blah. Our officiant (also a friend and also a priest who has probably done hundreds of weddings) suggested we check with the venue to make sure open flames are allowed annnd... sure enough they aren't. There were a few other logistically impossible ideas I had in the original timeline and thank goodness for our amazing good great friend who is also a wedding planner who talked me off the ledge on a few things. It's important to get other people's feed back ...

5) ...but at the same time, KNOW what you want and be ready to be firm about it.
For whatever reason with weddings everyone thinks they need to give their opinion about everything you're doing, and let me tell you- I'm a people pleaser if I've ever met one. But let me be clear, when I am hemorrhaging my own money on something I WILL get what I want. A few people tried to talk us down from a few elements or convince us to change things around (but why wouldn't you just do what they do at all the other weddings?), and it was important to remember that they mean well and what they're sharing is just their opinion. And that there is a 0% chance that you're going to please everyone in the planning process and about a 0% chance that anyone is going to end up feeling displeased at the wedding.

6) Trust your people
Hi my name is Lindsay and I am Type A. Is my brother going to remember to prepare something to read? Is the planner actually going to get the champagne to us? Is the caterer going to remember to put out the champagne before the ceremony? Are people going to pay attention and grab champagne? What if... what if... what if...

Guess what. These people get paid for a reason. And everyone cares. And everything works out. And if anything didn't work out I didn't even notice.

Those are my tips for planning a ceremony - anything I'm missing? What are some non-traditional elements you've seen or done at a wedding?

P.S. How amazing is that picture? Our photographer (and friend we met on a cruise) was so amazing, there was never a moment that I was like "WHERE'S THE PHOTOGRAPHER SOMEONE GET THIS", and guess what? Flying her in from Florida was half the price of any DC photographers I saw. She travels, she's amazing, she's affordable, check her out (or just go to her site and swoon over her other pictures).

P.S.S. The Penny Hoarder just came out with this article on 101 Creative Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding . Yes please.


Check back next Friday for more budget wedding tips!


Tips for planning an alternative wedding ceremony

Friday, March 20, 2015

I'm back from the best week ever! Recap of our wedding and Cancun honeymoon and photodumps coming soon, as well as zillions of posts on all the things I've learned along the way. Thankfully we seem to have brought the warmth back with us from Cancun, and today, I'm trying to get it togetha meal wise (no room service here! What a drag!).

I thought we would do paleo pre-wedding and probably give up afterwards, but Harrison and I both feel SO much better eating this way so we're sticking to it! Here's the food for the tiny bit of the week I have:

Breakfast for the week

  • Green Smoothies
  • New Breakfast Casserole (recipe coming soon, after taste test haha)


Lunch for the week

Crockpot Chicken & Okra from Healthy Seasonal Recipes


Dinners:

Snacks:
  • Almonds
  • Roasted beets
  • Sugar snap peas
Dessert
Almond Flour Brownies (GAME CHANGERS. MAKE THESE NOW)


And for now I leave you with a few pix from the wedding and beyond:
(yes, we made cardboard cutouts of our dogs and Kim K ugly crying face)


Best bridesmaid snapchat:



Sneak Peak from the photographer (yes. epic snow. everywhere. in March):



Ultimate Selfie:




Annnd I have zero pictures from the honeymoon because I did not turn my phone on once (confession: I checked my email every morning to make sure the dogs were ok. #CrazyDogLady), but I have plenty of GoPro footage coming soon!

PS I got a juicer off our registry! Any suggestions?? Besides fresh juice for mimosas of course..

I'm baaack! Paleo Meals for the week + A few wedding pix

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Happy Monday! I'm writing this from the warmth of my home as an ice storm swirls around outside. This has to be good luck for our wedding on Saturday right?

Anyway, it's wedding week around here and we're going to have lots of people in and out of the house ad be running around like crazy people, so I wanted to make sure to have a lot of bulk meals prepared that are easy for anyone to pull out and heat up (slash so I am not tempted to just order pizza). I've been feeling so good and healthy and clear-headed on paleo and I want to feel this good during wedding week!





Last week I had some leftover cooked ground turkey and some leftover pizza sauce so I decided to make some paleo friendly sloppy joes. We ate them with plantain bread which, shockingly, IS JUST LIKE BREAD AND PALEO. WTF! It was so easy too? I'm beyond confused about why this bread recipe works but it does. Here is the recipe for plantain bread.

Sidenote about the plantain bread and the sloppy joes: Harrison ate them, loved them, and said it was just as good as normal sloppy joes. WIN.



Paleo Sloppy Joes:
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Servings: 4
  • 2 teaspoons coconut oil
  • 1 lb lean ground turkey ($3.00)
  • 1 onion, diced ($.88)
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced ($.90)
  • 2 tablespoons honey 
  • 1 tablespoon Italian sesaoning
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 can organic tomato sauce ($2.00)
  • 2 Tablespoons tomato paste ($.50)
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Coat a frying pan with coconut oil. Season the turkey with the Italian seasoning, garlic powder and salt. Brown over medium-high heat until there is no pink left. Add in the onion and pepper and cook for 4-5 minutes, until onions are translucent.

Reduce heat to low and add the remaining ingredients and mix well until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Cover and heat over low for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with plantain bread and sweet potato fries and it's like a cheat day!


Paleo Meal Plan for the week + Paleo Sloppy Joes!

Monday, March 2, 2015